St. Boniface (c.672 to June 5, 754)

  "On a lonely winter evening, when the frost Has wrought a silence."    (John Keats)

  On this Winter Solstice, let us celebrate peace and light. Many traditions, both pagan and religious, are celebrated today and on the days surrounding the longest night of the year. One of my favorites is the legend of St. Boniface and the Donar Oak.
   He was a bishop who was born in Devonshire, England c.672. One day, in 725, St. Boniface decided to chop down a sacred and massive Donar Oak in Geismar, Germany. As the tree hit the ground, out popped a young fir tree.
  "This is indeed a symbol of the Christ child," he told the townspeople. "Forever more, bring the evergreen into your homes at Christmastime and decorate it as a reminder of  peace, joy, and love."
  St. Boniface died in what is modern day Netherlands on June 5, 754. His feast day is June 5.

   If  you don't want to freeze at a bonfire tonight, stay indoors and enjoy A Hermit's Soup from "Twelve Months of Monastery Soups" by Brother Victor-Antoine d'Avila-Latourrette. It makes 1-2 servings.

    1 potato, 1 turnip, half a small cabbage, 2 carrots, 1 onion, 3 tablespoons oil of choice, 1/3 cup rice,  
 2 quarts water, salt and a pinch of thyme to taste

   1. Wash and trim the vegetables. Cut and slice all of them into tiny pieces.
   2. Pour oil into a soup pot, add the vegetables, and saute them for a few minutes. Add the rice and water. Stir well. Keeping the pot covered, cook over low heat for one hour. Add the salt and thyme just before serving. Stir well and serve hot.

Blessed Francis Patrizzi (1266 to May 26, 1328)

  "Snowy nights and Christmas lights, Icy windowpanes,
   Make me wish that we could be together again
   And the windy winter avenues just don't seem the same
   And the Christmas carols sound like blues,
   But the choir is not to blame."
                                    (Jim Croce)

   My great grandmother would wait until Palm Sunday each year to reconcile with family or friends she may have had a fallen out with. By simply handing someone palms was a gesture that meant things were forgiven.
   How many of us have cut ties with a person this year and would we really want them in our lives again? It seems that at Christmas, we often forget the real reason we've parted ways. Why not start small? Invite one person back into your life. I'll do the same and begin with my own family.
   Blessed Francis Patrizzi is the patron of reconciliation. He was born in Siena in 1266 and became a member of the Servites after hearing a speech by Blessed Ambrose Sansedoni.
   Blessed Francis Patrizzi could solve any kind of problem through meditation. He died on May 26, 1328 and is buried in the Church of Santa Maria de Servi in Siena. He was beatified in 1743.

St. Lufthild (? to c.850)

   And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
 (Matthew 8:20)

  It was brutally cold tonight. The ground was frozen, the tree limbs bare, and the bird feeders empty. Still, there was something quite beautiful about the moon above, the Christmas lights twinkling from nearby houses, and the chilly silence.
 What are homeless people doing right now? Why is it, I wonder, that I only seem to think of them on the coldest nights that are close to Christmas?
  Now my mind is preoccupied with people who need a place to sleep and a warm meal. I'm not about to rattle of homelessness statistics. I'm going to be more sensitive to the needs of other people even if it means having a less for myself.
  In the words of Charles Dickens, "I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year."
    St. Lufthild is a patron saint of homeless people. She was born in the 9th century and was abused by her stepmother for sharing the family's food with the poor. Tired of being beaten up, but unwilling to stop giving to the needy, St. Lufthild ran away and lived as a homeless hermit.
  She died c.850 and miracles continue to happen in her name. St. Lufthild's feast day is Jan. 23.

Blessed Helen of Udine (1396 to April 23, 1458)

  While I was enjoying a drink at a crowded Christmas caroling party tonight, a friend quietly told me for the past 30 or so years she's been a spiritualist. Intrigued by what that meant, I asked her a few questions then later did my own research into it.
  Some of the principles are a belief in spirit communication, that the soul lives on after the physical body dies, and that after death it's possible for the soul to learn and improve. (I thought lessons were learned in this life and the choices we make while alive determine how long we wait in purgatory.)
  Further, my friend, who's a gifted artist and intelligent woman, told me she was a medium and used to attend a Spiritualist Church where seances are held. It's for people who are intuitive and want to communicate with the dead.
  I'm intuitive and I wish I knew where my dead relatives were, but that wouldn't make me a Spiritualist or want to join such a church. Still, I'm interested in what type of people are drawn to the concept.
  And, personally, I don't think it sounds any stranger that the behavior of  Blessed Helen of Udine. She was born Helen Valentini in Italy in 1396 and was so in love with her husband that when he died unexpectedly after 27 years of marriage, she cut off all her hair and buried it along with her best jewelry in her husband's grave.
  Blessed Helen of Udine, a widowed mother of six, became a Augustinian tertiary performing charitable deeds. Then, she took a vow of silence and would only speak once a year on Christmas night. She had ecstatic trances brought on by a battle with worldy temptation.
  For the last three years of her life, Blessed Helen of Udine was confined (by her wishes) to a bed of stone and straw.
  Many people would think she sounds a bit eccentric or crazy, so why would my belief in saints such as Blessed Helen of Udine, sound more normal than a Spiritualist's belief in communication with the dead? In fact, it doesn't.
  We may "try" different religions as we go through life and, after coming full circle, we are drawn to the one that feels most comfortable. Whether or not we attend a Mass or service, truly doesn't matter. It's how we conduct our lives and treat others that counts.
  Blessed Helen of Udine, who had the gift of healing, died on April 23, 1458. She was beatified in 1848 (that's a long time to be waiting for sainthood) and her feast day is April 23.

St. Ezequiel Moreno y Diaz (April 9, 1848 to Aug. 19, 1906)

   There's no smoking in my house or car. Nothing annoys me more than someone lighting up a cigarette after I've just finished washing my hair. Besides, it's absolutely disgusting to inhale secondhand smoke.
  It's my personal taste not to want to smell like an ashtray. I want my clothes to smell clean. And, the odd thing is, many people who smoke, just don't get it. They think the world is against them. They take it personally if a nonsmoker doesn't want to be around them.
  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies secondhand smoke as a known human carcinogen. If you do smoke, I'm not saying I dislike you. I'm saying have some respect for the people around you.
  St. Ezequiel Moreno y Diaz is a patron saint against cancer. He was born on April 9, 1848 in Navarra, Spain. He served as a missionary to the Philippines and was later bishop of Pinara, Colombia.
  St. Ezequiel Moreno y Diaz was known for his charity work. He died on Aug. 19, 1906. Canonized: 1992. His feast day is Aug. 19.

St. Bega (7th century)

 "In the bleak mid-winter frosty wind made moan
  Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
  Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
  Snow on snow, in the bleak mid-winter, long ago.

  Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him,
  Nor earth sustain;
  Heaven and earth shall flee away
  When he comes to reign:
  In the bleak mid-winter
  A stable-place sufficed
  The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ."
                                (Christina Rossetti, 1872)

 
    In recent years, A Celtic Christmas Sojourn with Brian O'Donovan has become a holiday tradition for me. It's a fun night in Providence where I can dress festively and celebrate all things Irish in a month other than March.
   Being raised in an French/Italian American family this is all new to me although I remember my mother saying that her best friends were all Irish. She respected the faith they had in the Roman Catholic Church and would often ask Wini, Cynthia, Marie, or Joyce why good people die young.
  "Marilyn," Marie said. "Sometimes, God takes people before their time because if they had lived longer they may have done something that couldn't be forgiven."
  My mother loved having dinner at Joyce's because they would say the rosary in the evening which was unheard of at her house.
  So, in my own life, I enjoy experiencing the music and traditions of other ethnicities like I did tonight at A Celtic Christmas Sojourn. "Mrs. Fogarty's Christmas Cake" and "All On a Christmas Morning" were my favorites and there were also traditional carols like "The Bleak Midwinter" and "Silent Night."
  Among the hundreds of saints who were from Ireland is St. Bega (also known as St. Bee) who lived in the 7th century. She was an Irish princess, who instead of marrying a Norwegian prince, fled the Irish sea to England.
  There St. Bega, a virgin, became a nun and founded St. Bee's Monastery. She lived for a time as a hermitess. Her feast day is Oct. 31.

St. Maria Crocifissa di Rosa (Nov. 6, 1813 to 1855)

   I got an e-mail this week from a guy in Switzerland whose heart was broken when his girlfriend left him in order to become a nun. What prompted him to contact me was that he'd read a previous blog entry where I mentioned that I like sex too much or I'd move to Assisi, Italy and become a Franciscan nun
  "What? You should see what it's like to be cuckolded by God," he wrote.
  I'm not quite sure what he means. Still, I hope he finds peace. In the meantime, today is the feast day of St. Maria Crocifissa di Rosa. She was a nun who didn't break any man's heart.
  She was born Nov. 6, 1813 in Brescia, Italy. When she was 17-years-old, her mother died and she took care of her father. During the cholera epidemic, St. Maria Crocifissa di Rosa worked in a hospital.
  She was a mother superior. In 1839, she founded of the Handmaids of Charity in Brescia. St. Maria Crocifissa di Rosa helped women and young girls who were exploited, sick, needy, or blind. She died in 1855.  Canonized: 1954.

St. Augustine of Hippo (Nov. 13, 354 to Aug. 28, 430)

  "It is this one Spirit who makes it possible for an infant to be regenerated... when that infant is brought to baptism; and it is through this one Spirit that the infant so presented is reborn."
                                                                             (St. Augustine of Hippo)

   It's been more than 11 years since my mother passed away and equally as long that I spoke with her best friend, my godmother, Joyce.  But, today, that all changed when I got a phone call from Joyce. She'd just received a Christmas package I sent to her earlier this week filled with a colorful Blessed Virgin Mary wall calendar for 2011, a nativity from South America, a Christmas novena booklet, and her favorite chocolates.
   Joyce is dear to me, of course, because she's my godmother. She met my mother when they were 12-years-old and she'll be 75 next month. And, for the first time, I noticed something a little different about her.
  Throughout our conversation, Joyce seemed forgetful. She couldn't remember her age or how many grandchildren she had. Then, she'd asked her husband, my godfather, whose voice I could hear in the background and repeat the answers back to me.
  It made me feel upset because it seems like she has a form of Alzheimer's disease like her mother did. Still, Joyce laughed it off  by saying that she's older now and, as we age, we tend to forget things. She's right. Just some people do so a little bit faster.
  In the Roman Catholic Church, baptism is very important, so I'm glad Joyce was chosen as my godmother. When I was born in the mid 1960s, women stayed in the hospital for several days after a birth. My mother told me I went home on March 19, six days after I was born.
  Back then, it was almost mandatory that a baby be baptized immediately. You weren't supposed to go driving around with a newborn. If, God forbid, they died, they could be stuck in limbo forever.
  I couldn't be baptized right away because two days after I went home was Palm Sunday and the following Sunday was Easter.
  In the decades that followed, I remained close to Joyce. Her parish was St. Augustine Church in Providence, so I will write about him today.
  St. Augustine of Hippo was a Doctor of the Church and one of the most influential saints of all time. He was born Nov. 13, 354 in what is now Algeria. His mother was St. Monica.
  St. Augustine of Hippo was said to be a wild man who enjoyed partying and drinking. His sins of impurity blocked his mind from the Divine Truth. However, his mother continued to pray for him. Then one day, St. Augustine of Hippo snapped out of it and decided to live a life similar to Jesus.
  He was a bishop and a prolific writer. St. Augustine of Hippo died on Aug. 28, 430 and his feast day is Aug. 28.

(Happy Birthday, Grandma Denise: Dec. 14, 1895 to Feb. 2, 1972)

Our Lady of Banneux

   At a news conference today at the Vatican, an Italian edition of a Dictionary of Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary revealed some startling news.  Of the 2,400 claims of people seeing her throughout the centuries, only 15 have been recognized by the Roman Catholic Church.
   We are all familiar with Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and Our Lady of Fatima, to name a few. But, according to one of the co-authors of the book, Father Rene Lauretin, apparitions are considered the most controversial of all theological subjects and the least scientifically studied.
  I, for one, believe that if a logical, intelligent person or even a small child believes they have seen the Blessed Virgin Mary, that there's a strong chance that it's true. Why would anyone make up such a thing?
  Our Lady of Banneux proved to be a definite apparition in 1949.  From Jan. 15 to March 2, 1933, a 12-year-old girl named Mariette Beco (pictured on the left above) saw the Blessed Virgin Mary in Banneux, Belgium.
  Common to many apparitions, the young girl told her priest and family that a beautiful woman in white encouraged her to drink from a small spring that would heal and help all nations. The spring is said to now produce 2,000 gallons of water a day.
  The Blessed Virgin Mary, who called herself the Virgin of the Poor, asked that a chapel be built on the site.
  "I come to relieve suffering and believe in me and I will believe in you," she said.
  The feast day of Our Lady of Banneux is Jan. 15.

(Happy Feast of St. Lucy!)

St. Abra (c.343 to c.360)

   "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor..."  (1 Thessalonians 4:3-4)

   A person who was doing a Google search that St. Jude Thaddeus didn't help them, found their way to my blog this week. Hopefully, after reading the entry, they understand that sometimes things aren't meant to be. At least my dad told me that.
  Still, I find it disturbing when you ask for help through saintly intervention and it doesn't work. I went the St. Jude Thaddeus (patron of hopeless cases) route many times and drew my own conclusions afterward. You can read about it by clicking on the blue link in the above paragraph.
  I listened to my dad quite a bit growing up because he gave good advice. However, if I had been St. Abra, whose father was St. Hilary of Poitiers, that wouldn't be the case.
  St. Abra was born c.343 in Poitiers, France. Her father made the suggestion that she take her vows as a consecrated virgin and nun.  She did and devoted her time to doing charitable deeds. That was only for a short time since she died c.360 at age 18. Her feast day is today.

(Happy Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe!)